How do you properly determine the current script directory in Python?

Question

I would like to see what is the best way to determine the current script directory in Python.

I discovered that, due to the many ways of calling Python code, it is ha

Answer 1

For .py scripts as well as interactive usage:

I frequently use the directory of my scripts (for accessing files stored along side them), but I also frequently run these scripts in an interactive shell for debugging purposes. I define __dirpath__ as:

• When running or importing a .py file, the file's base directory. This is always the correct path.
• When running an .ipyn notebook, the current working directory. This is always the correct path, since Jupyter sets the working directory as the .ipynb base directory.
• When running in a REPL, the current working directory. Hmm, what is the actual "correct path" when the code is detached from a file? Rather, make it your responsibility to change into the "correct path" before invoking the REPL.

Python 3.4 (and above):

from pathlib import Path
__dirpath__ = Path(globals().get("__file__", "./_")).absolute().parent

Python 2 (and above):

import os
__dirpath__ = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(globals().get("__file__", "./_")))

Explanation:

• globals() returns all the global variables as a dictionary.
• .get("__file__", "./_") returns the value from the key "__file__" if it exists in globals(), otherwise it returns the provided default value "./_".
• The rest of the code just expands __file__ (or "./_") into an absolute filepath, and then returns the filepath's base directory.